2016-2017 is The Studio's 40th year in the business of training dancers!

The Studio has been the official academy of Santa Cruz Ballet Theater since the non-profit performing organization was created. The school was founded in 1976, and its Director Jean Dunphy pursued the addition of a non-profit arm in 1982 to provide performing experience for her students. Both The Studio and Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre have been directed by Robert Kelley and Diane Cypher since 1998.

It has long been the goal of both the Directors and the Board of Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre to merge the two organizations into one. Both are undeniably interlaced, serve an analogous purpose and are artistically driven by an indistinguishable vision. Championed by our longevity in the Santa Cruz arts community, Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre and The Studio endeavor to fulfill a longtime need for a larger scale dance education center in Santa Cruz, together. Stay tuned for our progress. If you would like to help us fulfill this dream, please contact Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre Board President, Mark Swan at marks@scbt.org

Both Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre and The Studio share the same physical home in Soquel, California. When we merge together, we endeavor to move into a brand new space designed especially for our unique needs at the Tannery Arts Center in downtown Santa Cruz, bringing both organizations home again. We were housed together on Pacific Avenue until the great earthquake of 1989, when we took refuge in the old mushroom factory on South Rodeo Gulch Road in Soquel, where we are housed now (after substantial renovation of the building). Our prospective home at the TAC promises to offer a more central base for our families, as well as the opportunity of using the on-site performing arts theater for smaller concerts.

For more information about The Studio's effective training programs, see our About page.